What’s Happening to Our Wildlife? We’re losing it!

History of Poaching

Imagine if there were no animals on earth. Would you even bother if there were no species in existence? Well If you care for animals or would like to discover the importance of Wild-animals, you are in the right place. African natural species are endangered in many different ways, such as Habitat loss, Poaching, land fragmentation. Poaching is one of the significant threat that is affecting wildlife in Africa.

What is poaching first? According to Doris (2019), Poaching is taking wildlife judicially, in infringement of local, state, or federal law. One is considered a poacher when he/she kills an animal out of season without a license or a prohibited weapon (Doris, 2019). Since antiquity, People in Africa used to hunt animals for food; thus, Poaching was not even a big issue in that period. However, in the 1990s Commercial Poaching was growing, thus threatening wildlife. New colonial Europian state created game preservation laws that restrict most African to commercial poach; as well as hunting for food (Thompsell, 2019). After African countries regained their independence in the 1950s and 60s, they kept these game Laws, but hunting for food was allowed.

Commercial Poaching continued; to the extent wherein the 1970s and 80s, the continent’s Elephants and Rhinocerous faced a potential extinction (ibid). Eighty countries agreed on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered species of Wild Flora and Fauna to govern the commercial trade of animals (Thompsell, 2019). Animals included were Rhinos, and later on, elephants were added on the list due to the increase of the ivory market. However, while incorporating efforts to fight against Poaching, in the 21st-century Commercial Poaching kept growing, even internationally. Asian demand for ivory risen, thus making reinforcing the Poaching again in Africa to a crisis level (Thompsell, 2019). According to The International Union for the Conservation of Nature, 20 000 elephants were being killed each year.

You can not imagine how the demand for elephants ivory and rhino horns on the Asian market. Due to the high demand for ivory and rhino horns poaching in sub-Saharan African is a severe problem for wildlife. For instance, In 2013, Kenya lost 117 elephants, which were slaughtered to satisfy the requirement of consumers, their ivory, and other pieces permitting for enormous prices on the black markets of Asia (Messenger, 2013). Moreover, Kenya, 21 rhinos were executed to provide the demand for rhino horns in Southeast Asia (Messenger, 2013). Poaching is not just the slaughtering of animals, just for rage or enmity of wildlife. However, it provides income for poachers, both external stakeholders, and markets. For example, the Elephant Action League (EAL) revealed that Al Shabaab, an affiliate of Al-Qaeda which is known to be a group of the infamous attack on civilians at a mall in Nairobi, Kenya, make 40% of its annual operating fund from illegal ivory sales (Kalron and Crosta, 2012). Poachers are not even mad people. The outside market is enough to convince someone who is in poverty to take risks of illegal hunting because it generates a substantial income. When one looks at the demand for wild animal pieces, it stands out for itself. For instance, a 10-kilogram elephant-ivory roughly cost 30 000$ (Vira and Ewing, 2014). Furthermore, the current number of the transaction has doubled since 2017. For instance, elephant ivory cost 2 205$ per kilogram, while The rhino horns cost $66,139 per kilogram, which is valued more than the gold and platinum on the Chinese black market (Lawson and Vines, 2014).

There are many tools used to poach wildlife. As the technology advance and as more efforts are used to prevent poachers, illegal hunters also update their ways o poaching. According to Shauer (2015), in the mid-1950s, people used to poach using poisoned arrows to kill the elephants. However, now poachers prefer to use night vision goggles, rocket launchers, and helicopters (Walker, 2013). This second method is very noisy; it is quite easy to find poachers using the same technique of Poaching. To prevent being caught by the law, Some poachers prefer to poison water holes. Poisoning holes are the worst poaching technique ever. It not only kills the targeted animals such as elephants but also kills other animals such as lions and hyenas that feed on cascades of the elephants (Eller, 2014; Thornycroft and Laing, 2013). For example, “ in neighboring Gabon’s Minkebe National Park, the forest elephant population has plunged from an estimated 21,000 to 11,100, nearly a 50 percent reduction in the last ten years a result of poaching operations supported by the infrastructure of mining camps in the area” (Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux, 2013, p.173). Moreover, in Zimbabwe, Because poachers put cyanides in water holes and salt in licks, more than 300 elephants died in 2013 (Thornycroft and Laing, 2013).

NOTABLE EFFORTS FIGHTING POACHING

VETPAW

A group of post 9/11 US veterans with combat skills who are committed to protecting and training Park Rangers to combat poaching on the ground in Africa. they employ veterans to help fight the increasing unemployment rate of this group in the US but also, and most importantly because their skills learned on the frontlines in Afghanistan are unrivaled.

How They Do it

• They train local park rangers free of charge to work better, smarter and faster using the best techniques available. Our training and expertise empower local forces to maximize the positive impact they are already working so hard to achieve.
• They educate local communities on the long-term benefits of a thriving wildlife community. On the reserves we protect, we continually support in the monitoring and research of wildlife and endangered species.
• Their team of highly-trained veterans also operates on the ground, legally, with local African park rangers and law enforcement to stop poachers before they act. 

WILDLIFEDIRECT ORGANIZATION

Wildlifedirect is a non-profit organization based in Kenya whose mission is to connect people to their wildlife and nature and inspiring them to treasure and act to conserve them.

How they do it

Education and Outreach program, an education program that introduces Kenyan children to endangered wildlife through a nationwide program targeting public primary schools.

A Call to Action

What can I do to help?

• Report any suspicious poaching or ivory trade to the authorities
• Use the power of social media to raise awareness
• Do not buy any products made from wildlife products, bracelets, medicine, etc.
• Get your friends involved by starting a wildlife club

REFERENCE LIST

1. The Independent. (2019). Ditch colonial attitudes to elephant hunting, conservationists tell EU. [online] Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/elephant-ivory-africa-eu-cites-juncker-leyen-hunt-colonial-a9025926.html [Accessed 16 Dec. 2019].
2. Obour, R., Asare, R., Ankomah, P. and Larson, T. (2016). [online] Science Direct. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320712003722 [Accessed 16 Dec. 2019].
3. Thompsell, A. (2019). History of Hunting in Africa and How the Practice of Poaching Started. [online] ThoughtCo. Available at: https://www.thoughtco.com/poaching-in-africa-43351 [Accessed 16 Dec. 2019].
4. Lin, D. (2019). Poaching and Its Effects on Wildlife. [online] ThoughtCo. Available at: https://www.thoughtco.com/overview-of-poaching-127892 [Accessed 16 Dec. 2019].
5. Distefano, E. (2005). [online] Tnrf.org. Available at: https://www.tnrf.org/files/E-INFO-Human-Wildlife_Conflict_worldwide_case_studies_by_Elisa_Distefano_no_date.pdf [Accessed 14 Dec. 2019]
6. Veteran Empowered (2019). Protecting wildlife on the Frontlines | VETPAW. [online] VETPAW. Available at: https://vetpaw.org/ [Accessed 16 Dec. 2019].